Apparatus for cooling printing plates



Nov. 10, 1936. H. A. w. wooo 2,050,353

APPARATUS FOR COOLING PRINTING PLATES Original Filed March 31, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet V/PM/A jd d)? Nov. 10, 1936. H. A. w.'wooD APPARATUS FOR COOLING PRINTING PLATES -2 Shets-Shet 2 Original Filed March 31, 1.930

@QQQQQQ v @QQQQOQQQ Patented Nov. 10,. 1936 PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR COOLING PRINTING PLATES Henry A. Wise Wood, New York, N. Y.,' asslgnor to Wood Newspaper Machinery Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Virginia Application March 31, 1930, Serial No. 440,416

Renewed September 5, 1934 12 Claims.

This invention relates to the cooling of. stereotype printing plates.

The principal object of the invention is to provide for cooling the plate as it is being shaved on the inside and while it is effectively held in a fixed position in the shaving arch so as to prevent distortion of the plate by the cooling action; in other words to hold the plate securely in shape in the shaving arch while being shaved and cooled.

Other objects and advantages of the invention are to provide means for supporting the plate at intervals throughout itsarea and preferably in the spaces between the ribs so that the plate will be held firmly against the arch during the shaving and cooling at numerous points on the surface; to provide means for cooling the plate either before or after the shaving operation or both, but while it is going on; to provide means for directing the cooling fluid against the interior of. the plate while the shaving knife is acting on the interior surfaces of the ribs and to provide means whereby the cooling'medium will be turned on when the plate goes through the. shaver and turned off when the shaver is idle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter,

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an end view of a plate in the arch and about to be moved up to its seat therein and a shaving 'knifeready to commence the shaving operation, with this invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on a plane parallel to the plane of Fig. 1 showing the shavingand cooling operation in process;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the insideclamping means; v

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the arch and associated parts showing a plate in the same position as in Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view like Fig. 4 showing a modification in the shaving knife.

It is necessary to cool stereotype printing plates after the ribs have been finished on the interior in order to get them ready for the printing press cylinder quickly. This has been done either by dipping the plates in a cooling tank or by spraying water on the inner surface of the plate after shaving. It is a well known fact that, during the cooling of the plate in either of these ways, distortion takes place. The plates do not come out of the cooling operation in a uniform shape. They are apt to be misshapen particularly at the corners and in such a case, if the plate clips on the cylinder of the press have become worn or wise have.

loose, it is difficult sometimes to hold the plate tightly in position. This causes poor printing, puncturing of the paper andundue wear on the press blankets.

' This invention is designed to overcome these 5 difliculties by providing for holding the plates securely against the seat in the cooling arch while being shaved and cooling during the same period.

In this way no cooling element is applied to the plate after it leaves the arch and when the plate is finished and cooled it is retained in shape. Thus it will not change its shape after the shaving operation. The plates therefore come out in uniform condition and the disadvantages of the old method are avoided.

The invention is shown as applied to a well known type of shaving arch I0 which has a hollow back through which cooling water is passed during the shaving operation. This, however, would cool only one side of the plate and would not cool it sufliciently for the purposes of this invention. The stereotype plates P are introduced as usual on rollers I l which receive the plate at a level below the arch as indicated in Fig. 1. Then these rollers are lifted and the plate put up into the 225 arch the same as has been done heretofore. The means for forcing the rollers up is not shown herein as any ordinary means now known to this art can be used.

The holding of the plate in the arch by the rollers at each edge has been thought sufllcient heretofore but as the plate is introduced into the arch almost immediately after casting and is in j a somewhat plastic and flexible state, this old method sometimes leaves the plate not fully in contact with the. arch at some points and it has flat spots occasionally. In order to insure that the plate shallbe forced up against the arch throughout its area a. series of clamping bridges l2 are shown. These have a semi-circular curvature to fit the interior of the plate in the spaces between the ribs ordinarily cast thereon. These semi-circular bridges are shown as tapering toward both sides to fonn comparatively sharp edges lit to surround their circumference. These edges engage the plate along these lines at short distances apart and force out all the flats and other irregularities which the plates might other- These bridges are mounted on two 'bases l4 extending along the arch below and guided to slide up and down.

Two parallel shafts l5,v operated by gears l6' and gear segments I! by hand or power, are provided with eccentrics I8.- It is on these eccentrics that the bases H'rest. Obviously turning the shape of the arch practically throughout its area. The eccentrics l8 are shown as provided with inwardly extending, cam projections l9.

. When the bridge member is lifted these cam surfaces force the bases ll with the bridge or clamping members outwardly on both sides so that uniform pressure may be obtained throughout the arch as well as on the underside of the top. Thus pressure is provided directly upwardly and outwardly at both sides.

The shaving knife 20 is shown as mounted on a knife bar 2| as usual and this knife, instead of being continuous, is provided with a series of notches 22 for clearing the bridges l2. The projecting parts 23 of the knife extend up, of course, to uniform distances between the bridges and shave the ribs in a uniform manner without interfering with the holding of the plate firmly against the arch. The knife is shown, except in Fig. 5, as made up of a plurality of sections 24,

each having a slot and bolt construction for securing them in place adjustably. If they get worn or injured each one can be adjusted as desired independently without removing the whole knife. It may be remarked here that the knife may be made in one piece with the notches 22 and the projections 23 giving a serrated form, as shown in Fig. 5. In either case the several shaving surfaces of the shaving knife pass between the supporting and holding members l2 all the way from one side of the plate to the other so that the plate is shaved under the very best conditions. The projections or teeth on the knife pass between the bridge members l2 during the rotation of the knife bar and the spaces between the I bridges l2 on the bases M are cut out on a slant at for that purpose.

This knife bar is provided with a pipe 25 extending into the end and located in a central longitudinal passage 28 extending to substantially the other end of the knife bar. The pipe may be sealed by a stuiilng box 21 if desired or any other means employed for that purpose. This pipe 25 of course is stationary while the knife bar turns. The pipe is provided with openings 28 in the top of just sufficient size for the purpose to be described. The knife bar is provided with two sets of ports 29 and 30 and when the knife bar is in such a position that these ports are in registration with the openings 28 the water, air, or other cooling medium passes through them into a couple of chambers 3| and 32, one in front of the knife and one behind it. These are provided with perforations 33 and 34 extending out in a general radial direction for spraying the water or conducting the air outwardly against the inner surface of the plate being shaved. Y

It will be seen that, as the pipe 25 is stationary, the spraying will not take place except when the shaving knife is in position for shaving. When it is turned down to the position shown in Fig. 1 the cooling fluid will not be discharged because the internal bore of the knife bar will constitute a valve to close it off.

In operation, as the knife passes upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1,-the cooling fluid will be admitted in advance of the knife against the plate and as it passes further around the cooling fluid will later be admitted against the plate behind the knife. As the knife nears the end of its shaving operation the source of water is then cut off first from the chamber 32 and afterwards from the chamber 3!. With this arrangement water is sprayed both before shaving and after shaving and cut off first ahead of the knife and then after it automatically.

It is not essential that both of these chambers 31 and 32 be employed and either one of them can be used without the other for cooling before or after the shaving operation instead of both.

-In any event it is-practically simultaneous with the shaving operation. During all this time the 15 plate is held firmly against the arch at all points and by the time the shaving operation is completed the plate is cooled and no further cooling is required. The plate is held in a true semicylindrical condition throughout its ar'ea while 2( the cooling is going on and there is no occasion for it to warp after the shaving operation is finished. It can be removed from the arch in the usual way, the clamping bridge being withdrawn the knife bar and that can be accomplished auto- 3( matically by means of a valve controlled by the position of the plate itself. This will not have to be done in the form illustrated. This adds very little mechanism to the ordinary shaving machine and eliminates the time necessary for cool- 3:

ing the plate outside the shaving arch, which has been wasted in some plants heretofore, as well as providing the advantages above mentioned.

Although I have illustrated and described only two forms of the invention and shown some fea- 4 tures that are not absolutely essential to the carrying out of the method in securing most of the objects of the invention I am aware of the fact that .these extra features can be omitted and other modifications made without departing from 4 the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited in this respect but what I do claim is:-

1. In a stereotype plate shaving device, the

combination with an arch for receiving the plate 5 and means for supporting the edges of the plate and forcing them toward the arch so as to seat the plate in the arch, of a plurality of transverse clamping bridges, each of arcuate shape and each having a sharp outer surface, said bridges being 5 spaced apart distances equal to the spaces between the ribs of the plate and adapted to engage the plate between the ribs, means for holding said clamping bridges firmly against the plate by an upward thrust of the same into the arch, and t a knife bar having a knife for shaving the interior of the plate provided with recesses for receiving said bridges.

2. In a stereotype plate shaving machine, the combination with a concave arch for receiving the plate, of a plurality of clamping bridges having a semi-circular surface, each bridge being provided with a sharp edge extending around the same for engaging the plate between the ribs thereof and holding it firmly against the arch at numerous points, means for forcing said bridges into the arch and means for spreading the sides of said bridges to force them against the side of the plate in the arch.

3. In a device for holding a curved stereotype aoeasss platefirmly along the concave arch, the combinathrough. arranged to extend in different direction .of a series of semi-circular bridses having sharpened outer edges, eccentric means for raising the opposite sides of said bridges to force them into the arch in a radial direction and cams for engaging the opposite sides of said bridges and forcing them apart to apply pressure in opposite radial directions transverse to the first direction. l

4. In a stereotype plate shaving machine, the combination with means extending at intervals around the circumference of the underside of the plate to be shaved for supporting the plate and a shaving knife having recesses at intervals for receiving the said means and thus permitting the knife to rotate-in the usual manner and shave the ribs of the plate while the plate is supported by the first named means between the ribs.

5. In a stereotype plate shaving machine, the combination with an arch for supporting the outside of a curved stereotype printing plate and a series of bridges located in the spaces between the ribs on the backs of the plates and extending around the same for holding the plates firmly in position, of a shaving knife made up of a plurality of independently adjustable sections, each section having a cutting edge projecting between two of said bridges to a point to shave the ribs on the back of the plate and provided with arecess between each two of said projections for receiving the bridges between them.

6. In a stereotype plate shaving device, the

combination with an arch for receiving the plate and means for supporting the edges of the plate and forcing them toward the arch so as to seat the plate in'the arch, on a plurality of clamping bridges, each of arcuate shape and spaced apart distances equal to spaces between the ribs of the plate and adapted to engage the plate between the ribs, and means for holding said clamping projections firmly against the plate by an upward thrust of the same into the arch, of a knife bar, a knife thereon for shaving the interior of the plate provided with recesses for receiving said bridges and means for spraying a cooling fluid on the interior of the plate as the knife bar moves around the plate to shave its interior.

7. In a, stereotype plate cooling and shaving device, the combination with an arch and means for holding the plate to be shaved in the arch, of a knife bar, a shaving knife carried thereby and rotatable with the bar to shave the interior surface of the ribs on the back of the plate, said bar having two chambers therein, one in front of and one back of the knife, each chamber being provided with a wall having perforations theretions directly toward a surface of the plate adiacent ,tothe shaving knife and means forintroducing a cooling fiuid into the chamber and thereby producing a spray on the surface ofthe plate ahead of and behind the knife.

8. In a stereotype plate shaving and cooling machine, the combination with a concave arch for receiving the plate and means for holding the plate firmly in the arch, of a rotatable knife bar, a shaving knife carried thereby, said knife bar having a central passage .therein, a stationary pipe extending into said passage and having an opening in one side substantially throughout its length, and a chamber along the side of the knife bar toward said knife, said knife bar having ports for conducting liquid from said pipe into said chamber adapted to cooperate with the opening in the pipe to constitute avalve for connecting the chamber with a source of fluid supply and cutting it 01! therefrom, the wall of said chamber having perforations therethrough whereby the fluid will be sprayed toward the surfaceof the Plate.

9. In a stereotype plate shaving device, the combination with an arch for receiving the plate, of a plurality of transverse clamping bridges, each of arcuate shape, said bridges being'spaced apart distances equal to the spaces between the ribs of.

the plate and adapted to engage the plate between the ribs, and means for holding said clamping bridges firmly against the plate thrust of the same into the arch.

10. In an apparatus for cooling stereotype plates, an arch, means for lifting a plate into the arch, positioning pieces for simultaneously forcby an upward ing all points of the face of the plate radially against the arch, and means for spraying cooling fiuid on the concave side of the plate while it is so held.

11. In an apparatus for cooling curved stereotype printing plates, a rigid shaving arch, means behind all printing surfaces of the plate for forcing them firmly and simultaneously against the arch, means for shaving the plate while in the arch, and means for placing cooling fluid on the plate while it is so held and while being shaved.

12. In a device for finishing curved stereotype printing plates, the combination of an arch, and radially acting means for pressing all printing surfaces of the plate firmly and simultaneouslyagainst the arch, with means for shaving the plate and for placing cooling fluid on the plate while it is so held.

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